The Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Senate Republicans have pushed an Ohio judge one step closer to becoming a U.S. District Court judge in Columbus.

The Republican-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee approved the nomination of Michael Watson late Thursday on a 16-0 vote with three senators voting "present," which is a way of acknowledging they were there for a vote without specifically voting "yes" or "no."

Watson still needs approval of the full Senate.

Watson, a judge at the 10th Ohio District Court of Appeals in Columbus, would replace U.S. District Judge James Graham, who planned to go on semiretirement status this year.

Watson was a Franklin County Common Pleas judge from 1996 until he became an appeals judge in May 2003. Before 1996, he served as chief legal counsel to Sen. George Voinovich when the Cleveland Republican was serving as Ohio's governor.

Voinovich and Republican Sen. Mike DeWine, a Judiciary Committee member who voted for Watson's nomination, had recommended him to the White House.